The Legacy: A Custodes Noctis Book (19 page)

His brother looked up at him. “You were there, that was the most important thing. That was what mattered at first. But then…But, you…Dad was…Uncle Bobby was…”

“Rob?”

“I think it was the moment when I was sure you were dead. Your hand went limp, like in the movies, you know? Uncle Bobby was scared, that calm but scared thing he did, but Galen…” Rob trailed off.

“What is it? Dad was there, you were okay. Rob what’s wrong?” he said, trying to comfort his brother. “Dad was just…”

Rob looked at him, tears at the edges of his eyes, the memories reflected in haunted blue eyes. He swallowed. “Galen—Dad was crying. They both were.”

“Oh, gods, Rob. All I thought was you were safe. I should have stayed with you a little longer. I tried.”

“I remember…” Rob paused and looked away, across the room. “I remember I asked if you were dead. Dad looked up with a smile and said no, he’d just put you into a healing sleep so you could get all the way better. I was still frightened, I wasn’t used to people telling me the truth about things like that. My adoptive parents told me my hamster had run away when it’d actually died. So I was still unsure.

“Uncle Bobby let me go, so I could get closer and see that you were okay. The affects of the incense were wearing off and I could ‘see’ you a little better. Dad assured me you were going to be okay, but he was still crying, so was Uncle Bobby and then I realized…”

“It was for you?” Galen said softly.

“I think so. Uncle Bobby held me and Dad put his hand on my head. It was the first time he healed me, it was always you before. It felt different, you know. I remember the pain leaving, and I tried to stay awake to make sure you were okay, but I couldn’t.”

“Dad was always good at that,” Galen said with a smile. “He could put me out faster…He was a great healer.”

“Galen,” Rob said quietly, looking at him. “Even then you were…”

“What?” Galen asked, puzzled.

“You were always stronger than Dad. And your ‘touch’ is different somehow.”

“No.” Galen said softly. “Dad was…”

“Galen, don’t you realize?” Rob put his hand on Galen’s arm. “It’s true, you…When you heal, you ‘look’ different, too.” Galen was shaking his head, trying to deny it. “And you know Dad couldn’t have…”

“No.” Galen pushed himself up, trying to shove the memory away. He ran a hand across his face, and carefully put the sword on the bed. The scar picked that moment to twist, hard, Galen gasped, trying to catch his breath. The voice was back, whispering to him. He felt Rob’s hand on his back, and focused on the warmth of his brother’s hand, using the contact to slow the twisting of the wound. “I’m okay,” he said quietly.

“Right,” Rob said softly, supporting him as the pain continued. “Can I get you something? The red bottle? It’s right here.” Rob’s hand left his back for a moment, and the bottle was pressed into his hand. Galen took a sip and waited, the pain backed off a tiny bit, the voice stilled. “Is it usually like this?” Rob asked.

Galen opened his eyes and looked at his brother. “No. Usually it just wakes up and twists.”

“Wakes up?”

“It’s quiet most of the year, it’s only really bad around…” Galen sighed. “Sorry, nice homecoming.”

“Homecoming,” Rob’s voice was wistful.

“Rob?” Galen winced as the scar twisted. “Let’s get a cup of coffee and something to eat.” He sensed they both needed a break from the past.

“Yeah.” Rob turned to leave, and they both came face to face with Mike standing in the door. The doctor was pale.

“Mike?” Galen looked at his friend.

“What the hell happened to the two of you?” Mike’s voice was harsh.

“How long have you been listening?” Galen asked.

“Since they started slicing on your brother. My god.” Mike swallowed. “He was… You were only thirteen.” Mike looked at Rob.

“Yes,” Rob said softly, pushing past the doctor. Galen smiled at Mike and followed his brother into the main room of the apartment.

“But, Galen?” Mike followed them. “You were hurt, but not…Is this when?”

“When what?” Galen asked with a weary sigh. “Drop it for a minute.”

Mike must have caught something in the tone of his voice, he looked at Galen for a long moment and then smiled. “I’m starving.”

Galen laughed and wandered into the kitchen. He listened to the conversation Mike struck up with Rob. Mike was singing the praises of The Urban Werewolves to his brother. Galen grinned. It sounded like his friend was trying to convince Rob he should stay. Galen chuckled under his breath as he rummaged in the refrigerator for food for the three of them. “Okay, come and get it,” he said a few minutes later. Rob came over and smiled, looking at the food. “Sorry, no meat,” Galen said with a shrug.

“I can’t stand the smell of it either,” Rob smiled.

Mike looked from one to the other. “You, too? Did it happen at the same time?”

“Not during dinner, Mike,” Galen said as he walked over to the table with his plate.

Rob sat across from him and looked at the doctor. “How’d you meet Galen?”

“It was about seven years ago,” Galen started. “Dad and Uncle Bobby were…” He saw Mike lean forward waiting for the explanation of how it happened. Galen had very carefully not mentioned the nature of the thing that had nearly killed his father. “Working.” Mike snorted in disgust and Rob raised his eyebrows.

“Working?” his brother asked. “Something…?”

“Yeah, exactly,” Galen smirked at Mike. “I was at school that day.” He paused.

“They brought Parry into the ER,” Mike picked up the story, noticing Galen’s hesitation. “He was a mess, blood everywhere, more dead than alive. Bobby was upset. He kept trying to get to Parry, but we needed to keep him back so we could work on him.”

“Bobby called, I was in class and the phone rang, the prof was pissed, but I knew he wouldn’t call unless it was bad. And it was, Dad was…” Galen stopped, remembering the call.
“Parry’s dying, I need you here, Galen. Now. Please. He’s dying.”

“Bobby kept saying he was dying,” Mike said. “He said he needed to help him. We told him Parry wasn’t dying.”

“He was, though, Mike, and Bobby could see it,” Galen said softly. “I ran out of class and headed straight for the hospital.” Galen sighed, remembering the scene that met him, Bobby frantic, his father nearly gone and the hospital staff trying to keep them away.

“When Galen got there,” Mike continued, “well, it was too late, or so we told him. We were trying, but we were sure we were going to lose Parry by then. Bobby was still trying to get to him. When Galen ran in, Bobby grabbed me and hauled me away. Before security could get there, before anything could happen I saw…” He swallowed.

“You healed Dad?” Rob asked.

“Not all the way, but enough to stabilize him. Like Dad did with us,” he added with a grim smile. “Dad was there a couple of days. I stayed with him that night and the next day, helping as much as I could. Bobby wouldn’t let me…”

“Let you what? Heal him all the way? Because of what you did? Galen?” Rob’s voice was a little angry. “Galen?”

Galen looked at his brother, weighing what he should say. “He was worried.”

“Why?” Mike asked.

Galen didn’t take his eyes from his brother. “I take risks with the family I don’t take with anyone else. Once I…” He swallowed, shoving it away, knowing it wouldn’t stay gone. Galen knew they’d have to talk about it eventually.

“You what?” Mike said softly.

“He went too far,” Rob said with no emotion in his voice. “He went too damn far trying to save someone.”

“What?” Mike was incredulous. “Too far implies…”

“Yeah,” Rob’s voice was flat. “He…and the other…the one…”

“Rob?” Galen reached out to put his hand on Rob’s arm to get a sense of what was happening, what was going through his brother’s mind. Rob snatched his arm away. “Rob?”

“No.” Rob pushed himself away from the table, and walked to the window looking out at the street.

Galen smiled sadly at Mike, and with a shrug, got up and gathered the dishes. He tried to ignore his brother, still standing at the window. Galen could sense the confusion and hurt radiating off of Rob. He put the dishes in the sink and grabbed a mug to get a cup of coffee. As he set the pot down, the scar woke up, twisting violently, and with it came the voice. Whispering to him. The cup slipped out of his hand. He heard it hit the floor, the sound muffled like it was coming from a long way off. Galen grabbed the counter, trying to steady himself as the old wound ground into his heart.

Keeper,” the voice whispered. “Hear me?” Sick laughter filled his head. He was falling, vaguely aware hands caught him before he hit the floor. “Keeper, you let me in, you touched the girl, my child, at the hospital, and now I am here.”

“Galen?” Rob’s voice came from somewhere removed from him.

“Galen?” Mike sounded frantic. Galen thought he felt someone’s hand on his wrist.

“You stopped me, you thought you ended it. It has just begun,” the voice continued.  Galen groaned a denial.

“Galen?” Rob’s voice was calm, determined.

Light stabbed into his brain. Mike had lifted an eyelid. Galen groaned again.

“Not yet, they can’t have you yet,” the voice said. “I have something for you.”

Pain drove into him, he heard his own voice cry out. His mind was pulled away from his control as It
violated his awareness. He was watching, the world unfolding like a movie.
A man stood in a circle of stone. He was dressed in a tunic and hose. Galen recognized the sword of a Keeper in his hands, it sparkled in the light of a bonfire. The sword looked nearly new. Something terrifying was standing before him, laughing at him. The man was bleeding, his brother lay dead on the ground at his feet. The terrifying darkness was afraid of the man, the Keeper, afraid of what he could do. It tried to laugh, It ended in a scream.

The vision shifted.
Rob was hanging from the tree, blood pouring from his wounds. The thing came towards Galen and touched him, the claws tracing a path through his body.
He screamed, he heard his voice, he was aware of Rob’s hands holding him before he was pulled away again.
Rob was on the altar, It had Its
hands on Rob. Suddenly Rob changed, no longer the thirteen-year-old, but as he was now. Galen looked down at his brother’s blood-stained body. Then looked in horror at his own hands, covered in what he knew what his brother’s blood.

“Galen!” Rob was shouting his name.

“We have to call 911,” Galen heard Mike’s voice filtering down through the visions. “He’s having another seizure.”

“It’s not a seizure,” his brother snapped.

“We will kill him, you and I, we will finish it, finally, and we will become,” the voice whispered.

“Help me,” Rob’s voice was firm, demanding obedience. “Hold him.” Galen felt himself shifted. One of Rob’s hands rested on the back of his head, the other over his heart.

“He can’t help,”
the laughter filled his mind, trying to pull his sanity away, trying to take his humanity.

“I’m going to put you out,” Rob’s voice was urgent, “listen, Galen, focus.”

“He can’t help.”

Warmth flowed from his brother’s hands as the sound of a heartbeat filled his mind, shutting out the laughter, shutting out the voice until there was nothing but the beat of the heart and the warmth of Rob’s hands and then there was nothing at all. Galen sank gratefully into darkness.

* * * * *

“We need to get him to the hospital.” Mike’s voice penetrated the dark. “He had a seizure. We need to find out what’s happening.”

“It wasn’t a seizure,” Rob answered.

“He had a seizure, and now he’s unconscious.” Mike’s voice was gruff but Galen could hear the worry under the harsh tone.

“He’s unconscious because…” Rob hesitated. “I did it.”

“What?” Mike said, surprised.

“It’s the one healing any Keeper can do. We can help someone sleep, away from  pain, and we can help ease the end.” Rob stopped. Galen felt the tiny shudder that ran through his brother’s body.

“I still think…”

“It wasn’t a seizure,” Galen said softly. He opened his eyes, he was still propped against Rob. Mike had his wrist in a firm grip.

“Galen,” Rob sighed in relief. Galen felt his brother sag.

“You remembered.” Galen looked at Rob.

“Yeah…” Rob swallowed. “I haven’t much since then.” Galen watched as his brother struggled to get control of himself. “Yeah, I remembered.”

“How long?” he said, pushing himself up and shifting so he could lean against the cupboard doors. Rob kept a hand on him, steadying him for a moment.

“Not long, a couple of minutes,” Rob said, his eyes searching Galen’s. “What happened? I saw…”

“What?” Galen snapped, then smiled. “Sorry. You saw It?” Rob nodded. “It said that when I touched the girl at the hospital…”

“It found a way in?” Rob paled.

“It showed me…” Galen stopped, the vision of his hands covered in Rob’s blood causing bile to rise in his throat. He swallowed, trying to keep the nausea down, it wasn’t working. “It showed me…” Galen started trembling.